Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman has been appointed as minister of Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation (SWHC), two months after the departure of its previous rabbi.

Announcing the move on social media, Rabbi Hyman said he had been elected to the post and that he and his wife Michelle “await adventures new”.

Rabbi Hyman previously served as minister of Ilford United Synagogue for 12 years. He announced in February that he was no longer employed by that congregation “due to the merger between Ilford and Redbridge synagogues”.

Last month, the Hymans joined the coastal congregation for the first days of Passover, with the shul advertising a second night seder in the company of the rabbinic couple.

The shul had advertised for a minister “who will lead our community forward but also bring their own ideas and enthusiasm and demonstrate qualities of religious leadership”.

The previous occupant of the SWHC pulpit, Rabbi Binyamin Bar, left in February.

Sacked by the shul board in January 2015, Rabbi Bar claimed unfair dismissal and continued to officiate at services.

He was reinstated four months later after the then board was voted out at the shul’s AGM.